Self-construction in Senecan tragedy, with special reference to Medea and Phaedra
Date
1993
Authors
McElduff, Siobhan Rachel
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Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to illustrate a particular and prominent element in Senecan tragedy, the element of self-construction. By discussing the characters in relation to their process of self-construction (the process by which a character attempts to create a secure and independent identity in the course of a drama), I hope to illuminate a hitherto largely ignored feature of Seneca's dramaturgy.
Chapter one focuses on former scholarly critiques of Senecan tragedy and shows that there is a Renaissance in the field of Senecan drama and an increasing number of favourable critical studies available to the reader. It discusses both those who believe that the plays are important as Stoic dramas or historical documents, and those who have more literary concerns (such as an interest in the self-reflexive nature of Seneca's characters). It concludes with the assertion that the plays are extremely concerned with the establishment and maintenance of a secure, self-assured persona, which is constructed in the course of the drama and whose function is to enable the characters to obtain their deepest wishes and to protect themselves against the claims of society.
Chapter two lists and illustrates the materials of self-construction and shows how they are utilized throughout Seneca's dramatic corpus. The materials of self-construction are often such things as the emotions, the soul, or the name (often used as shorthand to represent an entire literary-mythological tradition) and precedents in the history of the family or the individual which are used self-consciously by the characters to build a powerful identity that can withstand the claims of others.
Next the thesis turns to Medea and Phaedra (in chapters three and four respectively) to portray how the process of self-construction works in two specific characters. Phaedra, because of her inability to fashion herself on any single model for a continuous time, is weak and ineffective and unable to consummate her desire for her stepson Hippolytus. She attempts to employ the materials of self-construction outlined in chapter two but is unable to use them to create a coherent identity. Medea fashions herself primarily on her monstrous literary-mythological tradition and, using this as her model, constructs an identity.
Chapter five looks briefly at Seneca's Stoicism to see if there is any common ground between the philosophy and the plays. His Stoicism is seen to be concerned mainly with the individual and the care of the self, which should be shaped and trained into the correct mold: the wise man is one who looks inwards and finds satisfaction inside himself and who is indifferent to the world. Despite some surface similarity between the sage and the dramatic characters, it is likely that all the tragedies and the philosophy share is an extreme concentration on self and the belief that the self can be shaped into whatever form we wish.
Finally, I conclude with a summary and some suggestions on the meaning of self-construction. Self-construction rests upon a belief in the importance of the self and assumes that the needs of the self are more important than the claims of society. In addition, I argue it is a heroic pose and should be recognized as such; it inspires admiration as well as abhorrence. However, despite its heroic nature, self-construction is doomed to failure because the self cannot live up to all the demands made of it, and, most importantly, the self is not a perfectible object.
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UN SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions